Successful doctorate – summa cum laude for Dr Luca Nunzio Cifarelli

Highest honour for Dr Luca Cifarelli’s successful doctorate – we are delighted! Dr Cifarelli successfully defended his doctoral thesis at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in December 2025, receiving a summa cum laude distinction.

His dissertation, entitled “Activation of the TP53 pathway is a therapeutic vulnerability in NUP98::KDM5A⁺ paediatric AML”, deals with one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat forms of acute myeloid leukaemia in children. (Link)

Using coordinated leukaemia models that allow for a comparison of early childhood and adult leukaemia, as well as functional genome and proteome analyses, Luca identified a critical dependence of leukaemia on the AAA⁺-ATPase enzyme TRIP13. Drug inhibition of TRIP13 reactivates the cell’s own protective programme against transformation, the TP53 signalling network, paving the way for highly efficient treatment of the disease. Luca’s work has thus identified a promising, mechanistically sound strategy that could now lead to new treatment options for children with high-risk AML.

The day of the defence was made even more special by the fact that Lucas’ colleagues from the Institute for Experimental Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (EPHO) had travelled to Halle to celebrate this milestone with him.

Congratulations, Luca – and thank you for your commitment to improving treatment outcomes for young patients and their families.